NFL senior vice president of officiating Al Riveron said Monday it was “clear and obvious” to overturn New York Jets tight end’s Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ touchdown catch in the fourth quarter Sunday against the New England Patriots.

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  The reversal of Austin Seferian-Jenkins’ apparent touchdown is one occasion where the final call didn’t match the eye test.

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  Following a replay review in the New York Jets’ 24-17 loss to the New England Patriots on Sunday at MetLife Stadium, the Jets were upset and baffled by an apparent touchdown that turned into a fumble and a touchback.

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Riveron, speaking on a media conference call, explained his controversial replay decision, which his predecessors disagreed with and drew criticism from the Jets.

Riveron said the ball was loose when Seferian-Jenkins went airborne and was contracted by a defender, making it a fumble. By rule, a player has to re-establish possession before he hits anything out of bounds, and the Jets tight end didn’t do so. The ball went out of bounds across the goal line and through the end zone.

Riveron said “clear and obvious” is the standard that is used to overturn any call and “this definitely met that criteria.”

Riveron said the competition committee this offseason likely will examine the rule that gives the defense the ball when the offense loses it out of the end zone, but that as the rule currently stands it was applied correctly.

“This has been something that has been brought forth to the competition committee on numerous occasions, and I’m sure we’ll talk about it again. We might not agree with the rule, but that is the rule, so the rule was enforced correctly,” he said.

Seferian-Jenkins’ overturned touchdown came with 8:24 remaining in the fourth quarter and the Jets trailing 24-14. Because the ball was ruled to be a fumble out of bounds, the play resulted in a touchback and the Jets losing possession. The Patriots won 24-17.

Former officiating czars Mike Pereira and Dean Blandino, who are both analysts for Fox Sports, said Sunday they would not have overturned the score.

Former VPs of NFL officiating @MikePereira & @DeanBlandino think that the Jets late TD against the Patriots should have stood as called. pic.twitter.com/aDP6IIGXvg

— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 15, 2017

“I really have no comment on that; that’s really just their judgment,” Riveron said, when asked to respond to their comments.

Riveron said he judged the call based on the same angles the audience of the CBS broadcast had access to.

“Anything that we get in the command center we get directly from the TV feed. That’s what we base our decision on,” he said.

Seferian-Jenkins acknowledged Sunday that he bobbled the ball, but said he still felt it should’ve counted as a touchdown.

“I feel like I scored,” he said. “But at the end of the day, that’s what the ref called. I’m going to go with what the ref said, and I have to have better ball security.”

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Jets tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins tells reporters that he let his team down by fumbling in the end zone.

Several of his Jets teammates weren’t as forgiving, however.

“I’m pretty sure everybody is going to look back and say that was a B.S. call,” wide receiver Jermaine Kearse said.

ESPN’s Rich Cimini contributed to this report.

Pep Guardiola isn’t buying into reports suggesting Napoli will rest its star players during Tuesday’s Champions League encounter with Manchester City.

The Manchester City boss claimed he even knows which players will line up opposite his squad at the Etihad Stadium.

Napoli’s president, Aurelio De Laurentiis, hinted that manager Maurizio Sarri could give the team’s regulars a breather during the mid-week tie in order to ensure they’re fit for a crucial Serie A clash with Inter this weekend.

Guardiola, however, wasn’t willing to take the bait

“Absolutely not,” Guardiola told reporters, according to Rory O’Callaghan of Sky Sports, when asked if he believed De Laurentiis.

“If he is travelling this afternoon with Maurizio Sarri in the same plane, or in a private jet, he can ask him what team he is going to play.

“I think in the last 10 games they have played the same lineup. I can announce to you which players are going to play for Napoli against us.”

Napoli’s previous Champions League match – a 3-1 win over Feyenoord last month – featured virtually the same squad that appeared in the starting XI this past weekend against Roma, with the exception of defender Nikola Maksimovic.

Napoli went on to beat Roma 1-0 on Sunday to maintain the team’s perfect start to the Serie A campaign through eight matches.

President Donald Trump criticized NFL players who lodge pregame protests, saying in a speech in Alabama on Sept. 22 that he wished those players would be released. He also encouraged fans who are offended to walk out of stadiums. Several players and coaches reacted strongly to Trump on social media, and players — joined by coaches and owners, in some instances — across the league knelt, locked arms, raised their fists and even refused to come out of the locker room during the national anthem in Week 3. There were several more protests in Week 4. Vice President Mike Pence left the 49ers-Colts game at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis in Week 5 because of protesting that took place during the anthem.

Former San Francisco 49ers quarterback Colin Kaepernick started the pregame protest of racial oppression and inequality in the United States last season by sitting during the national anthem before a preseason game, then kneeling during the anthem throughout the season.

Previous protests this season: Week 5 | Week 4 | Week 3 | Week 2 | Week 1 | Preseason

Here are the players who protested in Week 6 (most recent updates first):

San Francisco 49ers: In a departure from the past two weeks when more than 20 players knelt for the national anthem, there were seven 49ers kneeling during the anthem before Sunday’s game against Washington. Safety Eric Reid, safety Adrian Colbert, linebacker Dekoda Watson, receiver Marquise Goodwin, defensive lineman Arik Armstead, linebacker Eli Harold and cornerback K’Waun Williams knelt. The rest of the team locked arms and stood throughout the playing of the anthem. — Nick Wagoner

Miami Dolphins: The Dolphins as a team stood for the national anthem on the sideline before Sunday’s game against the Falcons. Receiver Kenny Stills, safety Michael Thomas and tight end Julius Thomas, however, remained in the tunnel or locker room until the anthem was complete. All three players knelt before the Week 4 game against the Saints in London. — James Walker

New Orleans Saints: Most of the Saints players briefly knelt in unity before the anthem against the Lions, like they did in their game in Week 4, which was their last game before the bye. They then all stood during the anthem, with several players and coaches locking arms. Their kneeling was met with loud boos from the crowd, and it occurred at the same time that the Superdome PA announcer requested a moment of silence for fallen New Orleans police officer Marcus McNeil. The crowd then cheered as players stood up. — Mike Triplett

Carlo Ancelotti is history at Bayern Munich.

On Thursday, following Bayern’s 3-0 defeat at Paris Saint-Germain – its biggest loss in the Champions League’s group stage in 21 years – the German club parted company with Ancelotti as a result of internal discussions. Willy Sagnol will take charge of training and act as caretaker coach for its game at Hertha Berlin on Sunday.

“Our team’s performances since the start of the season have not met expectations,” Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, Bayern’s executive board chairman, said. “The match in Paris clearly showed we had to take immediate action. Hasan Salihamidzic and I met Carlo today for full and frank discussions where we informed him of our decision. I’d like to thank Carlo for his time working with us and I’m sorry about the way it has developed. Carlo is my friend and he will remain so, but we had to take a professional decision in the interests of FC Bayern. I expect the team to produce a positive response and show absolute determination to achieve our targets for the season.”

Bayern also parted company with Ancelotti’s staff, including Davide Ancelotti, Giovanni Mauri, Francesco Mauri, and Mino Fulco.

Ancelotti replaced Pep Guardiola as Bayern’s manager at the end of the 2015-16 season, and guided the club to the 2016-17 Bundesliga title.

Bayern’s first six games of the 2017-18 Bundesliga season were highlighted by a 2-0 defeat at TSG 1899 Hoffenheim and a 2-2 draw versus VfL Wolfsburg.

Speaking after Bayern’s loss at PSG, Ancelotti declared: “We had to attack and PSG just waited for the chance to play on the break. We had some good chances but were unable to find the right balance to prevent counter-attacks. That was the key factor. We shouldn’t be surprised PSG play to their strengths when we go 1-0 down straightaway.”

No manager in Bayern’s history can claim to have been sacked as early in the season as Ancelotti, who beat Jupp Heynckes, dismissed on Oct. 4, 1991. Only four managers parted ways with the club before season’s end, including Felix Magath, Jurgen Klinsmann, and Louis van Gaal.